. . . A little over 3 years ago I did a short video for Youtube of what was in my camera bag at that time (video at the bottom of this post and somewhat embarrasingly shot in portrait and don’t get me started on the hairstyle. 😀 ).

Back then, my ‘weapon’ of choice was a silver-chromed Leica M8 with a 50mm f/1.8 Canon Serenar and a Voigtlander 35mm f/2.5 Color Skopar. My bag of choice was the ‘M-Classics’ messenger style bag.

Today, the bag remains but the kit has changed beyond all recognition.

. . . As Stephan had asked, why are street photographs generally black & white? His question got me thinking and to tell you the truth, I was stumped for a simple answer..

Even a swift ‘Image’ search on Google for the term ‘Street Photography’ will bring up a raft of black & white photographs, garnered from the works of photographers from all corners of the globe, both professional and amateur. A quick count of the images reveals that of each group of ten pictures, approximately one of them will be in color.

. . . An enormous and humbled thank you to Don Springer and Olivier Duong of Inspired Eye magazine for posting an interview with myself and a selection of my favourite photographs, on the magazine’s website.

. . . On the same weekend as the Manchester visit, I took the opportunity of spending a day with the Fuji X-E1 & XF35 f/1.4, perusing the classic streets of my ideal destination, Chester. The sun was out in force and the streets were awash with shoppers, tourists and local folk just soaking up the atmosphere and culture. 250 years ago, Chester was seen as an escape from the more industrial neighbouring cities such as Manchester and that still remains true, even to this day.

. . . If the truth be known, I’ve never felt as mentally and physically exhausted after a day’s Street Photography as I did just last weekend in Manchester. Mind you, I probably didn’t do myself any favours by spending the previous day shooting on the streets of Chester and on both occasions wearing what are without doubt the most uncomfortable pair of boots I’ve ever owned. 🙂